MONTREAL, April 23, 2017 /CNW/ - Third time is the charm for Vancouver'sDayna Pidhoresky who achieved her goal of winning at Banque Scotia 21k de Montréal 2017 on her third attempt. It's a year of 3s for the elite runner who just won her third race, which coincides with her turning 30. On the men's side, Quebec elite runners took the first two steps of the podium.

The race was a close one for the men, in a close pack of seven for the first 10k and broke down to four runners – with Toronto'sJohn Mason in the lead. Montrealer François Jarry took the lead at 20k and distanced himself to win the race in 1:07:23, followed by Stephane Colle of St-Eustache – who was running his very first half - and John Mason.

Vancouver'sDayna Pidhoresky was the first female to cross the finish line, on her third visit to the race, followed by Lioudmila Kortchaguina from Markham and Montreal'sArianne Raby. The three women all have something to celebrate: in addition to her first place, Dayna ran the qualification time for the next IAAF World Championships in London this summer. Lioudmila was first in the Masters category and Arianne was first Quebec female runner.

"We're celebrating a year of growth on all fronts with record fundraising, more charities and runners on a two day event," said Carole Chapdelaine, Senior vice-president, Quebec and East Ontario region at Scotiabank. The Banque Scotia 21k de Montréal is now a staple fundraising event and an opportunity for runners to make a difference while they do what they enjoy most. I am proud to congratulate our runners and fundraisers on such a successful edition and I thank them for being part of this great event."

Taking place over two days for the first time, the event featured two new distances – a Kids' Run and a 10k. 7,000 crossed the start lines of the various distances, an increase of 25 percent over last year.

The new 10k distance was a popular event and the first to sell out, and welcomed a new wave of fundraisers happy to find a middle step between the 5k and the 21k to motivate them.

At press time, the Scotiabank Charity Challenge had raised more than $1.25 million for 79 charities in the Montreal area and the number is expected to continue to grow as fundraising is still open 30 days after the event. Scotiabank offers a Scotiabank Charity Challenge at six sponsored marathon events across Canada including Montreal, Halifax, Ottawa, Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto.

The Scotiabank Charity Challenge is a turnkey fundraising program that provides a simple way for runners in these races to support local causes that make a significant impact on Canadian communities. Participating charities keep 100% of the proceeds raised, as Scotiabank pays for all transaction and credit card fees.

Scotiabank believes in helping young people reach their full potential, and many organizations who take part in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge have a direct impact on our local youth. Young people are our future leaders and it's crucial to provide them with the skills and resources they need to succeed.

"This was our first two-day edition and the response from runners was overwhelmingly positive with all distances at capacity. We are proud of the turnout and of the performances of our athletes, particularly the Quebec elite runners who came out in force today," said François Lecot, Race Director, Canada Running Series.

Banque Scotia 21k de Montreal Results:

Demi-marathon, Hommes

François Jarry– Montreal, Canada – 1:07:23

Stephane Colle – St-Eustache, Canada – 1:07:38

John Mason – Drumbo, Canada – 1:07:42

Demi-marathon, Femmes

Dayna Pidhoresky – Vancouver, Canada – 1:13:45

Lioudmila Kortchaguina – Markham, Canada – 1:15:40

Arianne Raby – Montreal, Canada – 1:15:54

10k Hommes

Maxime Leboeuf – Gatineau, Canada – 31:42

Baghdad Rachem – Verdun, Canada – 32:03

Nick Best – Ottawa, Canada – 31:54

10k Femmes

Marie-Christine Carette – Montreal, Canada – 39:34

Celine Best – Ottawa, Canada – 39:37

Jeanne Evelyne Turgeon – Terrebonne, Canada – 43:21

5k Hommes

Jeremy Briand – Sainte-Julie, Canada – 15:17

Louis-Olivier Brassard – Lorraine, Canada – 16:08

Grégoire M. Bouchard – Montreal, Canada – 16:08

5k Femmes

Julie Flynn – Montreal, Canada – 17:43

Mary-Lou Butterfield – Sherbrooke, Canada – 18:59

Simone Plourde – Mont-Royal, Canada – 19:01

The Banque Scotia 21k de Montréal Running Festival is a world-class sporting event that brings together recreational and elite runners from across Canada and beyond for a race in Parc-Jean Drapeau, one of Montréal's most beautiful locations.

About ScotiabankScotiabank is Canada's international bank and a leading financial services provider in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Central America, and Asia-Pacific. We are dedicated to helping our 23 million customers become better off through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of more than 88,000 employees and assets of $887 billion (as at January 31, 2017), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (TSX: BNS) and New York Exchanges (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit www.scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.

About Canada Running SeriesCanada Running Series is the nation's premier running circuit with 7 events: 4 in Toronto, 2 in Vancouver and 1 in Montreal. It annually attracts some 60,000 participants and raises more than $6 million for some 320 mostly-local charities.

The Series includes the IAAF Gold Label Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, and the Athletics Canada National Marathon Championships. Since 1999, CRS has gained international recognition for innovation and organization.

We are passionately committed to staging great experiences for runners of all levels from Canadian Olympians and International stars, to healthy lifestyle people and charity runners; and to making sport part of sustainable communities and the city-building process. Our mission is "building community through the sport of running." Join us at www.RunCRS.ca